Jesus' sacrifice?

Question

How does Jesus' crucifixion count as a valid sin sacrifice when:

1.) Humans are not on the list of approved "clean" animals used for such sacrifices (Leviticus 4);

2.) Jesus was not "unblemished" (Lev. 22:22), as is required for such a sacrifice (he was whipped, beaten, and circumcised);

3.) No offering of his blood was made on an altar and his body was not burned (as is also required); and

4.) neither the Roman soldiers nor Jesus himself was a Levitical priest -- the only ones qualified to make such an offering (Exo. 29:9, 40:13-15)?

But Jesus couldn't have fulfilled the law and done away with the Old Covenant until AFTER the proper sacrifice had been made; and ACCORDING to the Old Covenant, the proper sacrifice WASN'T made!

Answer 1

There are a number of requirements for a sacrifice to be valid or it is completely disqualified and will be an abomination to G-d. These requirements are as follows:

1. The sin offering must be brought forth by the person seeking atonement, and slaughtered either by the sinner or by the priest.
2. Death must be caused by a sharp, perfect blade cutting across the neck, resulting in blood loss and swift death.
3. The offering must be physically unblemished.
4. In the case of mammal offerings (bulls, lambs, etc.) the offering must be less than one year old.
5. In the case of mammal offerings, the mammal must have cloven hooves and chew cud.
6. The sacrifice must be brought at the Temple
7. The sacrifice must have its blood taken by a priest and sprinkled on the altar.
8. The sacrifice must be salted.

Since Jesus did not fulfill even one of the eight precepts listed above, it's clear that his death could not be the atoning sacrifice Christians claim it is.

Suzanne:
I hate to break this to you but not only where all the things required in the atonement offering also required in the Passover offering; there where additional requirements as well.

Regardless which it was Jesus did not meet the requirements of either.

Answer 2

Jesus' crucifixion count as a valid sin sacrifice because:

1. Nothing was more clean that the Son of God..
2. Part of the Preparation for the sacrifice was the scourging.
3. Jesus offered His blood at the throne of God in Heaven.
4.Christ made the offering not the Romans and He is a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Everything was done as required....Jim

Answer 3

The sacrifice of Jesus was not Levitical and not under the old covenant. He was a priest in the order of Melchizedek, not of the Levites. The reach of his sacrifice goes back further even the Abraham, in fact, back to the very beginning.

Hebrews 7
11If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to come—one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? 12For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law. 13He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. 14For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. 15And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, 16one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. 17For it is declared:
"You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek."
18The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless 19(for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

20And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, 21but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him:
"The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind:
'You are a priest forever.' "22Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

Answer 4

Quantrill, you do give Christians a "run for our money," but you're not referring to the correct sacrifice. You must look to Passover to fully understand.

Jesus set Himself aside as the "Passover Lamb." His crucifixion occurred on the same day that the lamb was set aside. From the tenth day until the fourteenth day of the month, Jesus was tested by the Pharisees, by the Sadducees, by the Scribes, and by the Herodians. By perfectly answering all of their objections and questions, He showed that He was without spot and without blemish. Jesus was crucified (at 9:00 a.m.) and died on the first day of Passover. As you may know, it was at nine o'clock in the morning that the special Passover sacrifice was offered in the Temple compound. Just as the Jews were very careful to make sure that not a single bone of the Passover lamb was broken, John 19:36 points out that not a single bone of Jesus was broken either - not during the course of the crucifixion itself, nor by the Roman soldiers at the end of it all.

Jesus Christ's crucifixion does, in fact, count as a valid sacrifice. Again, you must look to the PROPER one, since there were many.

Here's a really interesting article on the Jews for Jesus web site: http://www.jewsforjesus.org/publications/issues/5_7/atonement

Answer 5

Because all the rituals were shadows of things to come. Jesus did not need to fullfill the rules as He was both the Priest who offers the sacrifice plus he was the sacrifice himself. He came to establish a NEW covenant so therefore the old covenant rules while foretelling the way not the required pathway.


Hebrew 2:14-18
Because God's children are human beings--made of flesh and blood--Jesus also became flesh and blood by being born in human form. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the Devil, who had the power of death. 15Only in this way could he deliver those who have lived all their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.

16We all know that Jesus came to help the descendants of Abraham, not to help the angels. 17Therefore, it was necessary for Jesus to be in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. He then could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. 18Since he himself has gone through suffering and temptation, he is able to help us when we are being tempted.

Hebrews 4:14
That is why we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him. 15This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. 16So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.

Hebrews 8: 7If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. 8But God himself found fault with the old one when he said:


"The day will come, says the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel and Judah.

9
This covenant will not be like the one
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
and led them out of the land of Egypt.
They did not remain faithful to my covenant,
so I turned my back on them, says the Lord.

Answer 6

I think you are getting lost on the process, rather than the reason here. It wasn't a sacrifice in the way you are thinking; rather it was a sacrifice in that Jesus had to give something up and so he 'sacrificed' his life.

Jesus was supposed to be perfect (if the Bible is correct he was). Adam gave away a perfect life (his own) at the beginning of the Bible and so Jesus had to give away his perfect life to repay the debt (the whole eye for an eye deal that is God's justice system). And that is why it is valid, if he was perfect (without sin), he repaid what Adam gave away.

Answer 7

1. Animals are only used so as not to use humans.
2. Jesus was sinless-the only requirement besides being human
3. Jesus bled and died-that was the requirement.
4. Israel lost its high priest when Caiaphas tore his clothed at Jesus' confession he was the son of God. The high priest was forbidden by law to tear his outer raiment-to do so would disqualify him as priest.
So-get this picture-Israel enters passover without a high priest to to make an offering for the sins of the nation. Jesus, the "lamb of God", hangs on a cross dying. The soldiers gamble for his clothes and one says to the other "let us not tear his garment". (John 19:23)
Isn't that coincidental?

Answer 8

The way you describe it, his executioners would have to be complicit in his sacrifice. Meaning that they intentionally made a sacrifice of him. Of course they would never do that. All they were trying to do was kill the bastard.

The reference to Jesus as being sacrificed for our sins is like hindsight. I've always interpreted it as a choice. He allowed himself to be martyred for the benefit of future humanity.

Additional details (after reading some answers): It's vulgar the way some have chosen recount details of his "Sacrifice" and how it was perfomed in accordance with "god's law" regarding sacrificial procedures. I know you are only blindly repeating the what was told to you, but that's still a very sick perspective.

Answer 9

The interesting point here is that there are a fair number of people on YA who claim Jesus was an entirely fictional character. If he were entirely fictional, why not simply have made him a Levitical priest?

Answer 10

You do not know as much as you think of the Word of God!
-The blood was offered in the heavenly tabernacle, read Hebrews.
-Animals were never a sufficient sacrifice, thus the need for the true sacrifice.
-Jesus was without sin, therefore He was without spot or wrinkle.
-Jesus was Baptized by John the Baptist who was the true heir to the priesthood, not the legal misrepresentations that the Romans had in place. John Baptized Him into the priesthood.